There was nothing to separate the two sides after normal time at the University of the Witwatersrand with Jill Witmer’s 57^th-minute goal for the US cancelling out Hannah Martin’s opener early in the second quarter.

After five penalties each, the two teams were level at 1-1 with Melissa Gonzalez scoring the US’s first and Sarah Haycroft converting England’s last.

It meant sudden death was needed to decide the contest and after England’s Alex Danson was denied for a second time by Jackie Briggs, Gonzalez was on hand to clinch victory for the Americans.

Awaiting the US in the final are Germany, who beat Argentina 2-1 in today’s earlier semi-final.

Naomi Heyn’s successfully-converted penalty corner gave Germany a seventh-minute lead and although Lucina von der Heyde equalised with one of her own nine minutes later, Charlotte Stapenhorst went onto score what proved to be the winner on the half-hour mark.

The final is scheduled to be held on Sunday (July 23) and will be preceded by the third-place play-off between England and Argentina.

Also played today were the fifth-to-eighth-place play-off matches and the ninth-place play-off.

In the fifth-to-eighth-place play-off matches, Japan beat India 2-0 before hosts South Africa defeated Ireland 3-0.

The results mean that Japan will face South Africa in the fifth-place play-off, while India and Ireland will battle it out for the right to finish seventh.

Both encounters are scheduled for Saturday (July 22). 

Japan and South Africa have also confirmed direct qualification for the 2018 World Cup in England's capital London.

Today's ninth-place play-off saw Chile overcome Poland 2-1.

The men’s semi-finals are due to be held tomorrow with Spain meeting Germany and Australia going up against Belgium.

They will be preceded by the fifth-to-eighth-place play-off matches between Egypt and New Zealand and Ireland and France, before which Japan play South Africa in the ninth-place play-off.